LIP Program

In a move that creates a $5 billion divide with the House, the Senate released a budget proposal Thursday that banks on expanding health-care coverage for low-income Floridians and extending a critical funding program for hospitals.

House budget writers unveiled an education spending plan Monday that would provide public schools with almost $47 less per student than Gov. Rick Scott proposed, and a key senator said his chamber was also unlikely to meet the governor’s number when a Senate blueprint is released Tuesday.

Florida will seek federal approval to expand funding for a program that is critical to hospitals serving large numbers of low-income and uninsured patients, the state Medicaid director told lawmakers Tuesday.